King Salman to Inaugurate World’s Largest Petrochemical Project

Dammam- Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is to inaugurate on Tuesday, during his visit to Jubail, the SR80 billion world’s largest petrochemical project, “Sadara Petrochemical Complex.”

The Saudi Aramco joint venture with Dow Chemical Co. and is located at the Persian Gulf port of Jubail in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

Saudi Minister of Energy, Industrial and Mineral Resources Khalid al-Falih said that the value of Aramco investment in oil projects, which will be inaugurated by King Salman on Thursday, amounts up to SR160 billion ($42.7 billion).

Al-Falih said that these investments represent the sustainability, and high economic and investment activeness.

Al-Falih announced on Sunday that King Salman will inaugurate Sadara project, which is considered an important hub to achieve Saudi Aramco’s strategy aiming at building upon the strength of the petroleum industry in the Kingdom, its technical development and vertical integration opportunities among fields of production, chemical industries and refining to attain highest levels of petroleum asset’s added-value.

Sadara will use ethane refined by Aramco nearby to make a petrochemical called butadiene to ship worldwide to facilities, likely including its Dutch plant.

Sadara represents a courageous commitment for Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical as it pushes “us at Aramco to achieve our goals aiming at increasing integration and added-value. It also reflects the Kingdom’s distinct and integrative vision,” he added.

In a press conference held on Sunday at the headquarters of national oil giant Saudi Aramco, al-Falih said that inaugurating Saudi Aramco’s projects, which include increasing the production capacity in Manifa, Sahaybah and Khurais oil fields in addition to other mega projects will take place on Thursday after it was delayed from Friday on November 25 due to bad weather conditions.

Regarding the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), AL-Falih said that Saudi Arabia was sticking to its position on the Algiers agreement that everyone should cooperate.

“We expect the level of demand to be encouraging in 2017, and the market will reach balance in 2017 even if there is no intervention by OPEC. But OPEC intervention aims to expedite this balance and the market recovery at a faster pace,” he said.

Asked whether Saudi Arabia was keeping its output high in November at around 10.6 million barrels per day, however, Falih said: “The level of demand for Saudi crude is still high and very healthy.”

“Regardless of Saudi and its market share, I think if we look at it as an indication of the health and recovery of the oil market.

“I don’t think that we have one path only in OPEC meetings, which is cutting production – I think maintaining production at current levels is justifiable, taking into consideration the recovery of consumption and growth in developing markets and the United States,” he added.